Life-and-Death Duel

Outside the Imperial Capital, in front of the Duel Stage, a crowd had already gathered. Besides the usual idlers who enjoyed watching excitement, many young masters from the Imperial Capital were also present.

Today was the day of Long Chen and Li Hao's life-or-death duel. Although duels were common here, life-or-death battles were not.

Furthermore, it was a life-or-death duel between two young masters. Even though their cultivation levels were not earth-shattering, it still attracted countless people to watch.

And in the most famous gambling house in the entire Imperial Capital, the Azure Gambling House, odds had been set for all gamblers to choose from:

Li Hao wins, 1 to 2. Long Chen wins, 1 to 10.

Because it was a life-or-death duel, there was no possibility of cheating. Especially between two young masters of noble status, betting money on their lives was an extremely thrilling prospect.

For a time, even those who were not gamblers began to place their bets, though almost everyone bought Li Hao to win.

Although Long Chen had defeated Li Hao last time, Li Hao had been completely unprepared then and Long Chen had exploited a loophole. Miracles don't happen twice.

However, a small portion of people enjoyed the thrill and took the risk, wanting to turn a small bet into a big win by betting on Long Chen. But this group was very small.

The betting area was not far from the duel stage. The area for those betting on Li Hao's victory was crowded, but the place for betting on Long Chen's victory was deserted.

"I bet three hundred thousand Gold Coins on Long Chen to win."

Suddenly, a tall man appeared before the person in charge of registration and threw over a Crystal Card.

"What?"

The registrar was shocked. It had been almost half the morning, and he had only received a little over ten thousand Gold Coins. He almost thought he had misheard.

This tall man was none other than Shi Feng. He was entrusted by Long Chen to bet all his Gold Coins on himself.

Long Chen had anticipated that due to their identities, the Azure Gambling House, with its influence, would definitely set odds for his life-or-death duel with Li Hao.

For a life-or-death duel like this, the Azure Gambling House had to participate even if they knew they would lose money, otherwise, they would lose significant popularity.

Their most profitable ventures were their internal gambling games, but they had to participate in these external betting pools to avoid dissatisfaction among gamblers.

However, the Azure Gambling House was wealthy and powerful, and could afford to lose money just to attract attention. This was precisely what Long Chen had counted on.

The original duel had been replaced by betting on the outside. One offered odds of one to one, the other one to ten. Long Chen, being no fool, knew what to do.

Yesterday, with the help of Fatty Yu and others, he had raised over two hundred thousand Gold Coins. After giving the Gold Coins to Shi Feng, Shi Feng, seeing Long Chen's confidence, gritted his teeth and raised the amount to three hundred thousand.

Shi Feng's family was not wealthy. The Shi family members were straightforward and hot-tempered, not good at business. In fact, they were not as well-off as Fatty Yu's family.

To raise the money, he had pawned his weapons and armor. He had gathered this money just to take a gamble with Long Chen.

After receiving the receipt from the registrar, Shi Feng's heart couldn't help but pound uncontrollably. Brother, you better be steady. All of my family's assets are on the line.

As noon approached, Li Hao arrived. With a single leap, he landed on the stage, which was about ten feet high, drawing a burst of cheers.

However, the cheers were not for his graceful movement, but because the prelude to the duel was about to begin. The show was finally starting.

Li Hao was wearing a fitted outfit today, neat and sharp all over, very pleasing to the eye. A hint of arrogance appeared on his face: Long Chen, I will repay the humiliation you gave me tenfold.

But after Li Hao took the stage, he waited for a long time, and Long Chen did not appear. People began to wonder if he was too afraid to come.

As everyone was puzzled, the old man guarding the stage said coldly, "Your agreed duel is at the third watch of noon. You are half an hour early. You can choose to wait on the stage or come down and wait."

Upon hearing this, everyone booed. Li Hao, who had been full of spirit on the stage, was dumbfounded: Damn it, how could I forget to check the time?

"It doesn't matter. I'll wait for him on the stage. Anyway, he's a man who's about to die, so his time is far more precious than mine."

Li Hao smiled faintly and sat down cross-legged on the stage, exuding an air of a master. However, after a while, his masterly demeanor began to falter.

It was noon, and the sun was scorching. The stage was paved with black stone slabs, which were scorching hot, practically enough to fry an egg.

But Li Hao had already sat down and couldn't stand up. To maintain his masterly demeanor, he endured the torment.

Some sharp-eyed individuals had already noticed that smoke was faintly rising from beneath Li Hao's buttocks. For a moment, everyone's expression was extremely strange.

"This guy is such an idiot, dying for pride and suffering for it. Soon, before the fight even begins, his butt will be cooked."

A delicate laugh came from a woman. In the distance, two masked women were calmly watching the stage.

"To put it bluntly, he's just pretentious," another woman shook her head.

"Sister Meng Qi, we've been here for several days. When are you planning to break off your engagement with him?" the woman asked.

The woman called Meng Qi frowned slightly, looking troubled. "He's in a difficult situation right now. If I were to suddenly propose breaking off the engagement at this time, it would be too cruel to him. I don't know what to do."

"But this can't go on like this forever. Master has urged us several times. If we don't return to the mountain soon, we might be punished. Besides, with your talent, you can step into the Xiantian realm and touch the Dao. You and he are destined to be from two different worlds, with no future together," the woman sighed.

"But I feel like I'm letting him down by doing this. Alas... I'll wait and see," Meng Qi gently shook her head, a hint of distress in her beautiful eyes.

Seeing Meng Qi still hesitant, the woman was about to speak when she suddenly noticed a commotion in the distance and hurried to look.

She saw a man in black robes slowly walking through the crowd. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, radiating a unique aura that gave people a profound sense of depth.

He was like a well, appearing ordinary on the surface, but no one could see through him, nor fathom his depth. It was as if he himself was a mystery.

Even the woman and Meng Qi couldn't help but feel their hearts flutter when they saw Long Chen appear in such a manner. It had to be said that the current Long Chen was worlds apart from the one they had seen a few days ago. He was now filled with confidence.

Seeing Long Chen arrive, Li Hao "whooshed" and jumped up from the ground. He felt a searing pain in his buttocks and a surge of resentment in his heart.

"Long Chen, come up and die!" Li Hao roared.

Long Chen didn't even glance at Li Hao. He scanned the crowd and saw Shi Feng nod at him, which put his mind at ease.

He not only saw Shi Feng but also Fatty Yu and the others. Clearly, they had come to cheer him on.

Long Chen smiled faintly at them and turned to walk towards the stage. Li Hao had jumped up, while Long Chen took the stairs.

For a moment, those who had bet on Long Chen to win felt their hearts sink. They felt their money was likely gone for good.

"Long Chen."

Seeing Long Chen finally ascend, Li Hao gritted his teeth and spat out the two words.

"Idiot, did your butt get singed?" Long Chen sneered, looking at Li Hao.

In fact, he had arrived long ago but had been hiding in the distance, enjoying the shade, unnoticed. However, he had seen everything happening here clearly.

"It is three quarters past noon. Both parties sign the life-and-death contract."

Just then, the old man produced a document. Long Chen smiled faintly and left his name on it.

This time was different from last time; there was no longer a way to concede. The victor had the right to decide the fate of the loser.

After signing, Li Hao looked at Long Chen with a ferocious expression. "You little bastard, I will repay the humiliation you gave me a hundredfold today."

Now that the life-and-death contract was signed, this stage had become their place of mutual destruction, with no need for a referee.

"A sharp blade cuts the body, but it heals quickly; harsh words wound the heart and leave lasting hatred. It seems you don't understand. Your repeated provocations are forcing my hand."

Long Chen took a deep breath, a thick killing intent appearing in his eyes. Ever since Zhou Yaoyang had questioned his parentage last time, some people had begun to use this insulting term to refer to him.

"Die, you trash!"

Li Hao let out a cold laugh and roared, circulating his Spiritual Energy throughout his body. A visible stream of spiritual power flowed around him.

The spectators exchanged glances. Li Hao had suffered a great loss last time because he hadn't circulated his True Essence to protect himself, allowing Long Chen to successfully launch a sneak attack. This time, he had prepared his defenses in advance.

Although he was only in the Qi Gathering Realm and couldn't project his spiritual power externally, circulating Spiritual Energy to protect his body made it difficult for ordinary people to cause him harm.

After setting up his defenses, Li Hao lunged at Long Chen with a sinister grin, his hands forming claws and reaching for Long Chen's shoulders.

His claws were covered in Spiritual Energy, no different from iron hooks. If an ordinary person were grabbed, their shoulder bones would be instantly crushed.

"Good, Li Hao! Completely cripple this bastard!"

A loud roar came from below the stage. The person shouting was none other than Wang Mang, who had half his teeth knocked out by Long Chen at the Imperial Academy.

Wang Mang, young as he was, was now missing half his teeth. His family's wealth was insufficient to afford pills that could regenerate bone. He now hated Long Chen deeply and couldn't help but cheer loudly at the sight of Long Chen about to be captured.

As he cheered, Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, and the others' expressions changed. Long Chen had not revealed any hint of his cultivation from beginning to end, causing their hearts to leap into their throats.

Long Chen watched Li Hao pounce, a cold smile appearing on his lips. He took a step forward, his entire body moving like a shadow, rushing towards Li Hao.

"Bang."